Rail and tie clamp



Dec. 28, 1926. 1,611,977

F. WILSON. SR

RAIL AND TIE CLAMP Filed August 12 192 3" 1 24 28 J 4 I 31\ I fizz I w fi 12 30%?32, 12 :5 L 1 12 17 6 Z6 Z2 17 My 28 17 /2.5 26 52 31 1Z\b1 if? [/10 1 o o /17/ 1z-\ 25 m 15 10 I 12 I \L 23 INVENTOR,

Frank Wilson/5'2:

BY I 4, 447% ATTORNEY.

Patented Eco. 28 1926.

units sr'rss renew oerics;

A 't hi it eanie wiLson,

SR OF LOS AEIGELES, CALIFORNIA. ASSIGNOR TO ANNIE WILSON REBOUL, 015 LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA RAIL AND TIE CLAMP.

Application filed August 12,

My invention relates to railway constructicn and more particularly to a clamping device for fastening the rails of a railway to the tics or sleepers thereof.

The spikes commonly employed to secure rails to ties in railway construction, have always been unsatisfactory because of the tact that they often work loose so as to allow the rails to spread apart and also because holes are made in the ties which tend to hasten their destruction by decay.

The primary object of my invention is to provide a i'iastening clan'ipwhich will hold the rails so securely and rigidly fixed on the ties that they cannot spread apart.

It further object is to provide a rail and tie clamp which. will materially prolong the life of ties because of the tact that it does not penetrate or mar the tie so as to induce decay therein.

A further object is to provide a rail and tie clamp which not only will hold the rail securely fastened to the tie but which also wi l prevent the rail from cutting recess in the tie where the former rests upon the latter, a common occurrence which also may induce decay and shorten the life of the tie.

Other objects and advantages will appear hereinafter and while I show herewith and will describe a preferred form of construction, I desire it to be understood that I do not. limit my invention to such preferred form but that various changes and adaptalions may be made therein without departing from the spirit of my invention as here inatter claimed.

Referring to the drawings which accompany this specification and form a part thereof F 1 is a fragmentary plan view of a railway in which a preferred form of my rail and tie clamps are used as a fastening means instead of the usual spikes.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view in elevation of one end of a tie and one side of a rail, show ing details of the clamp illustrated in Fig. l.

Fi 3 is a sectional view of the rail shown in Fig. 2, taken on line 33 of that figure, and showing a View of the clamp at right angles to that of Fig. 2.

Fig. t a plan view similar to Fig, 1 showing a slightly inodil'ied form of rail and tie clamp.

Fig. 5 is a View similar to Fig. 2 showing details of the clamp illustrated in Fig. 4'.

1928. Serial No. 128,739.

Fig. ('3 is a sectional View similar to ll ig- 25 show) w of the modified form of clamp at 1 has to that of F 5.

preferred vered more in detail the form 0''; clamp, as shown in pl isgs. l to 3 in Cons elusive, consists ot two clai'n g plates, an upper plate 10 and a lower p ge ll, acapt ed to grip the flanges ot the rail 13, while resting on the upper side oi the tie let; a yoke plate 15, adaptec to lie transverse ly against the under side of the tie, and two bolts l6 xtending vertically through holes in, said clamping plates and said yo-lre plate one on. each side ot tie, said yolzc plate 15 and bolts 16 forming a yoke adapt ed to enilin'aco the tie and hold plates 10 and ti rigidly c-lanuyed thereon. The several plates are made of plate metal of a thickness sufficient to insure against bending of the parts when in use.

Ciaiupii'ig plates 10 and 11 are made of equal width, a width such that their edges project beyond the sides of the tie, as shown in Fig. 2. Lower plate. 11 is made somewhat longer than upper plate 10 and one end there-of is bent to form an upturned hook 17 adapted to receive one flange 12 of: the rail, when the plate is placed between the rail and the tie with the rail resting upon it, shown in Fig. 2, the other end 18 of the plate etztending straight along the upper face oi? the tie several inches beyond the other flange of the rail. The length of up per plate 10 is such that when its inner end 19 butts against the web 20 of the rail its outer end 21 lies upon outer end 18 of under platell and coincides with it. A triangular projection on one side of plate 10 is bent upwardly at right angles thereto so as to :t'orm abrace 22 which rests against the web 20 and under the head 23 of the rail, when the clamp is in place as shown in Fig. 3, and resists any tendency of the rail to tip toward that side.

Yoke plate 15 is a strai 'ht piece of coinparatively narrow plate lTlGr'Zll whose length is equal to the width of plates 10 and ll. It is placed transversely on the under side oi? the tie in Vertical alignn'ient with outer ends 21 and 18 of plates 10 and ll, respectively, and bolts 16 are passed through vertically aligned ioles in the three plates so that when their nuts 24 are tightened, plate 10 is drawn down on plate 11 and both are drawn down on the tie so as to grip the rail between plates l0 and ll and, simultaneously, to grip the tie between lower plate 11 and yoke plate 15 The rail is thus clamped so rigidly to the tie that so long as the nuts remain tight the rails cannot spread apart or lift from the ties. In order to insure against the nuts becoming loosened by vibration, I provide a locking plate 25, made of heavy sheet metal or light plate metal of a suitable Width and length so that end notches may be cut in the ends thereof to fit nuts 24. The fingers 26 thus formed may then be bent downwardly around and under the edges of plates 10 and 11, as shown in Fig. 2, to hold the locking plate in place.

The modified form of rail and clamp shown in Figs. 4 to (5 inclusive differs from the one described above mainly in that a single clamping plate 2"? with a transverse told 28 is substituted for plates 10 and 11 and a single yoke piece 29 with nuts 30 is substituted for bolts 16. Furthermore brace 22 is omitted in the modified term and looking plate 31 has two fingers 32 instead of one on each end thereof.

lVhile I have illustrated the use of my rail clamp in connection with railroad work only,

it is evident that it may be employed to equal i advantage in any kind of construction wherein rails or beams are to be fastened to sills, sleepers, etc.

Having thus illustrated and described my invention, I claim:

In combination with rails and ties, used in railway construction, a clamp comprising a lower plate, resting on the tie under the rail, said lower plate having one end hooked around one flange of the rail; a complementary upper plate resting on said under plate with one end extending over the other flange of the rail and butting against the web thereof, a yoke embracing the tie with its ends projecting upwardly tl'irough said lower and upper plates, the projecting ends o'l said yoke being threaded and equipped with nuts whereby said yoke may be drawn upwardy and said plates may be drawn downwardly on said tie, so that the flanges of the rail are gri aoed by said plates and said plates are simultaneously clamped to the tie, and a locking plate fixed on said lower and upper plates so as to prevent said yoke nuts from turnin FRANK WILSON, ss. 

